Nalverren climbs out of the pit, glad to be among the living.
Glad to have irked the lizardfolk so.
And glad to, hopefully, be one step closer to leaving this armpit of the jungle.
"She saved our lives." He shrugs, "Or at least the effort we'd have used killing waves of lizardfolk."
"She conjured the vines that dragged them into the pit. In a direct confrontation she'll always back down because she's scared. So she can't be trusted. We need a plan. Gather some gear and make a run for it. 'Cause we're a good fighting crew, but there's too damn many of them. Ylyeshshi could ask for our heads any time. "
Rehil moves back to the pit's lip to help Ashshar, Vaard, and/or Otto over the edge. He continues, "Irret's trustworthy, but we have to trust her to follow orders. Vaard and Ashshar are the only two lizardmen we can depend on."
or maybe not.
Cole watches as Rehil works, lending a three-fingered hand when its needed or asked. As he works, his mind grapples with Rehil’s idea. Finally, he responds.
“She did, but is that a surprise? She wants to support her chief. She advised we needed a test of strength to impress him. She gave it to us. I would call that trustworthy, so long as we understand the goals of her battle plans.”
There’s another long pause as his mind continues to work at the problem. “She sees us as useful, which makes us allies of a sort, so long as our goals don’t clash.” The tall warforged seems to be making some kind of mental list, “Irret is simple. She respects our strength and has no love of the poisondusk. Then there’s the other … Chief Zejj, maybe? The one who spoke as we marched for Ylyeshshi’s compound. I think he also may be an arrow in our quiver.”
His unblinking, green eyes shift back to Rehil. When he speaks, there’s a strange, quiet vulnerability to his tone. “Plus, if we run, I don’t think I can protect us all. Like you said, there are too many and we are far from help.” He touches on something in his pouch, which clinks lightly against his own metallic frame. “Hasty battle plans are just as bad as delayed battle plans.”
He looks up at the crew, “But what do you all think?”
At the top of the pit, Eshsheth is waiting with some nervous-looking Finback guards. "Come with me," he says.
"Our weapons?" Nalverren asks, holding his hand out.
The cold sun nods at Cole's words.
As he follows, he keeps his claws extended, ready to resume fighting if needed.
This isn't over yet, he muses,
Soon enough one of them will decide to try and kill us again.
Rehil grins broadly at the guards.
Then he turns his attention to the party's lizardfolk.
"Do the Cold Suns have one of those spirit beasts too?"
Then he turns his attention to the party's lizardfolk.
"Do the Cold Suns have one of those spirit beasts too?"
As the team largely seems to want to see how Kuoori’s help will play out, Cole puts a heavy hand on Rehil’s shoulder. His deep, monotone voice is pitched low.
“I don’t disagree with your concern. But our orders were to look into whatever’s causing the lizardfolk skirmishes … not add fuel to the fire.” He seems about to say something more, but doesn’t.
With a nod to Rehil—followed by a curious look as to whatever new plan is forming in the quiet elf's head—Cole reclaims his weapons and stands ready to follow Eshsheth.
The adventurers' weapons are not returned to them. "This way," says Eshsheth. He leads the adventurers out through the winding passages and back outside. They are taken to another hut and Eshsheth indicates that they should enter.
Nalverren follows along, increasingly resolved to be uncooperative.
As the team largely seems to want to see how Kuoori’s help will play out, Cole puts a heavy hand on Rehil’s shoulder. His deep, monotone voice is pitched low.
“I don’t disagree with your concern. But our orders were to look into whatever’s causing the lizardfolk skirmishes … not add fuel to the fire.” He seems about to say something more, but doesn’t.
With a nod to Rehil—followed by a curious look as to whatever new plan is forming in the quiet elf's head—Cole reclaims his weapons and stands ready to follow Eshsheth.
"The way I remember it, we volunteered to fix a trade problem and Bokehn spoke vaguely about fabulous rewards if we were successful. We haven't even been paid for the work we did. We're not under orders. Our path is vague and masterless."
"Don't worry about me. We've got to stick together to get out of here and through the jungle."
Following Eshsheth out of the chief's muesli-humus mound castle, Rehil watches carefully, trying to mark the path in his mind and looking for anything that might provide an advantage if he were to return.
The hut is empty, although seems to be reasonably appointed in lizardfolk fashion (there are a few mats of the packed earth floor). The other lizardfolk do not follow the adventurers in - Eshsheth departs and the Finback braves wait outside. About an hour later, another lizardman wordlessly brings food for the group in a basket of woven palm leaves - plantains, some sort of boiled vegetable, and roasted meat. The food is plain but wholesome, and the first decent meal for a few days.
No one else comes for hours, the guards waiting patiently by the door, until the sky begins to redden for the swift tropical sunset. The same lizardman comes back with more food, but this time accompanied by Koouri, Irret, Eshsheth and Chief Zejj. With the chief are some braves of his own tribe, the Skinwings. Koouri dismisses the Finback guards, and instead the Skinwing warriors keep watch by the door.
Koouri grabs a chunk of meat, tears off a strip with her teeth and gulps it down, then says, "You did very well this morning."
During the day Rehil can not stop moving. He talks quietly with each of his companions at intervals, sounding them out. Between conversations, he paces this jail hut ceaselessly. Occasionally he pulls and prods at the structure of the hut.
He is in full agreement with Wultram and Nalverren's anger, but thinks that it would be futile to act on it in any sort of attack. Are they agreed that the first priority must be escape?
Cole and Otto he tries to sound out. What do they think and plan? If an opportunity came would they run, or would they stay to work with the lizardmen?
He spends a lot of time with Ashshar and Vaard. In addition to asking their opinion on the situation, he also quizzes them about lizardfolk eyesight, especially in dim light and darkness, and hearing, and endurance in a chase. He compares notes on their current location and distances and travel times to their home village and Da'Sheth.
And, when the warforged is not looking, Rehil looks worriedly at Cole.
When Koouri, Irret, Eshsheth and Chief Zejj arrive, Rehil takes a portion of the new food and retreats to the wall of the hut, roughly behind the chief. He waves for one of his translators to join him.
Cole doesn’t respond to Rehil’s words , instead following the group quietly to the hut.
As they are left alone, the warforged spends a few moments simply waiting. When it becomes obvious they will be here a while, he pulls out his backpack, sits down, pulls out his repair gear, and begins working on the still-damaged hip joint.
He works at the ruined plate, growing more frustrated as he’s forced to spend more time un-doing the damage incurred from the grinding of the misshapen plate against his other hip-parts as they made their trip to the village and the subsequent fight against their totem beast … not to mention the ten foot fall into the pit. Finally, it’s too much. He begins jamming the tools haphazardly back into the pack in frustration. Still seated, Cole looks over at his elven traveling companion.
“Is something wrong, Rehil?” His usual metered, monotone voice has an edge to it … a water near boiling. He shakes his head, shifting subjects quickly, “No matter. What matters is why we’re here. Remind me of Bokehn’s orders. You were in the room with him. Not me.”
Koouri looks at Otto. "Perhaps you can give me your judgment of what occurred today."
***Before Koouri, et al arrive***
...
“Is something wrong, Rehil?” His usual metered, monotone voice has an edge to it … a water near boiling. He shakes his head, shifting subjects quickly, “No matter. What matters is why we’re here. Remind me of Bokehn’s orders. You were in the room with him. Not me.”
...
Rehil looks at Cole and his eyes defocus and drift to the right momentarily as he casts his mind back. "A scouting trip. He said, 'Find out what's going on and report back.'
"We know what's going on now. All we have to do is report back to satisfy Tharashk.
"It was madness to come. I was hoping that Portforged and the others were right. That a little diplomacy, or a couple icon poachers put down would solve the problem and that Tharashk would owe us a huge bonus.
"Bokehn dodged the question when I said we were contracted for river guard duty and this was something else. Our original contract didn't include walking into a full-blown war. If we return and report, they owe us, but I do not feel obligated to follow his orders here."
...
Bokehn glances up sternly from under his shaggy eye-brows at Rehil. Then he grins before coughing again. "Y'know, elf, you might be useless in a fight but I like your style. Here's the deal. We need to know what's going on here. A tribal uprising will impact on House Tharashk interests" - he gives Nalverren a pointed look - "no matter which way you look at it. I'm too weak to travel now but I'll get Pooma to send some of his lads downriver with a message to send some help and transport up here. In the meantime, you are to find out what's actually going on. Don't take any unnecessary risks. But if you can gather useful intelligence on this, I'm sure the House will be duly grateful - if you catch my drift. I might even put in a good word for you."
"The river guard duty you were likely contracted for was to guard him as he did the bit about protecting trade interests, which I'd hazard Tharashk was paying the big coins for."
Cole considers for a few minutes. When he finally speaks, his words are back to their usual deep, measured monotone. “’Find out what’s going on and report back.’ We know some non-lizardfolk are on these lands, digging up lizardfolk holy sites. We don’t know who or why. We know the poisondusk and possibly this dragon-chief are using this to mobilize much of the lizardfolk to war. Which will spill down out of these jungles.
“By the time we escape and make it back to Bokehn, or the next Tharashk contact, all this might have happened already.” He shrugs, clearly not seeing an easy answer, “Plus, whoever’s sitting on Da’Sheth has at least one airship. When the full weight of the lizardfolk come down on them, if they think they can’t win, they can retreat … and the lizardfolk will pour south.”
He looks around at his teammates, “Whoever said it a few days ago was onto something. If we could take and pilot that airship, we could get all this done. Or at least get out quickly. If not … well, I don’t want to die here, either. And we certainly don’t owe the lizardfolk anything.”
“We’re here. We can hear Kuoori out.”
"I for one, want to ride out on that airship one way or another. I don't relish the thought of stabbing my way past river-dwelling creatures, getting eaten by insects of various sizes, and sleeping in mud. For weeks."
"And some of us view war as a potential disaster," replies Koouri. "That much is obvious. But I was asking about what happened this morning."
"What occurred today is that we tried to reason with brutes, and were treated as brutes. Our weapons taken away, we still defeated the tribe's guardian, which was a tool they could have employed against their enemies. Enemies that they can't handle on their own, but are too prideful to ask us for help for. They don't realize that we only want to help so we can be done with this hellhole and out of the jungle."
He pauses for a second, taking a breath before continuing.
"So, I see the count. The tribe here has lost one weapon, too prideful to use another, and their enemy has full control of their precious artifacts. We few, with the power to change things, are harassed and our resources diminished"
When Kuoori enters, Cole stands up and begins a running translation for Rehil’s benefit.
Wultramn notes to Rehil regarding his intentions. "I may have desire to start a river of blood and not stop untill it runs dry. That does not mean that I am not aware of the situation. For now I am concentrating on getting out alive, I have very little desire to do anything for this excuse for a tribe but if that is what it takes for me to being able to continue my other pursuits so be it."
Rehil nods. "I agree. Getting out alive is the first goal."
Cole considers for a few minutes. When he finally speaks, his words are back to their usual deep, measured monotone. “’Find out what’s going on and report back.’ We know some non-lizardfolk are on these lands, digging up lizardfolk holy sites. We don’t know who or why. We know the poisondusk and possibly this dragon-chief are using this to mobilize much of the lizardfolk to war. Which will spill down out of these jungles.
“By the time we escape and make it back to Bokehn, or the next Tharashk contact, all this might have happened already.” He shrugs, clearly not seeing an easy answer, “Plus, whoever’s sitting on Da’Sheth has at least one airship. When the full weight of the lizardfolk come down on them, if they think they can’t win, they can retreat … and the lizardfolk will pour south.”
He looks around at his teammates, “Whoever said it a few days ago was onto something. If we could take and pilot that airship, we could get all this done. Or at least get out quickly. If not … well, I don’t want to die here, either. And we certainly don’t owe the lizardfolk anything.”
“We’re here. We can hear Kuoori out.”
Later when the talk turns to responsibilities and the larger mission he pipes up. "Only ones that we are due anything is Vaard's and Ashshar's tribe. Sure I would not mind having good relations to dragonmarked house and some extra coin in my purse, but that does not mean I consider myself owing them a damn thing."
...
"I for one, want to ride out on that airship one way or another. I don't relish the thought of stabbing my way past river-dwelling creatures, getting eaten by insects of various sizes, and sleeping in mud. For weeks."
"When a thief is in the castle, you don't need to know who it is to alert the king, but you must be quick. We know enough to go to Tharashk. With their help the lizardfolk would fare better in the battle, and Tharashk would earn goodwill from the tribes. Our mission would be a success.
"Like Nalverren said, the jungle is too slow and deadly. Our message would be too late if it got there at all. The airship holds our answer. Safe, swift travel. We would be our own masters again."
Koouri gives Otto an appraising look. "At least one of you appears to understand. Yes, the chief has been made to look a fool, and Jageela's advice to be poor. And the binding truce was broken, a solemn promise. The totem spirits have made it clear that they are angry with Ylyeshshi's actions. This happened before the leaders of the other tribes, who already have doubts about his fitness to lead."
She turns to Nalverren. "You have been used. This has made you angry. But nevertheless what happened today was to your benefit."
"You say you come here seeking to make peace," says Chief Zajj. "Ylyeshshi and Jageela and your main obstacles. Ylyeshshi is a violent idiot who rules through fear and might. Jageela serves his master in Haka'torvaak, not the interests of the Finbacks, Skinwings or any of the Cold Sun tribes."
"The other obstacle are the humans in Da'sheth," mutters Irret.
"True," replies Koouri, "But its seems there are better ways to deal with than than to break the power of our tribes against them." She turns back to the group. "Ylyeshshi lacks the imagination to think beyond war. Jageela's master seems to wish to test the humans' defences using Cold Sun braves. And the humans defile out sacred ground. While this persists, there cannot be peace between our peoples.
"You are safe here for the moment, but the chief will not forget or forgive his humiliation. Jageela is doubtless seeking to play on his anger. Eventually, he will move against you, either in force or by stealth.
"But by violating the binding truce, he has absolved you of your obligations too. Under our traditions, vengeance can be taken against a chief who violates his own truce by those he has wronged.
"Your lives still hang in the balance. The situation can turn either way, towards futile bloodshed or towards peace. So you only have one real option now. You must move before Ylyeshsi and Jageela.
"You must kill the chief, and his poisonous advisor."
Rehil settles back and listens to the lagging, rumbled beat of Cole.'s translation under the sinuous melody of the lizard speech. As Koouri goes on, the elf's anger smoulders, but simultaneously he relaxes into a comfortable familiarity, a kind of domestic deja vu.
...
"You must kill the chief, and his poisonous advisor."
The elf smiles. She's still playing us. Just like mother.
Chief Zejj hisses at Wultram's comments - lizardfolk laughter. "If you do not wish to be treated as hatchlings, do not act like them. You came into our lands of your own volition. Your people exploit us, yet you complain when we do the same to you. Peek out of your eggshells and see the world as it is.
"And it does no harm to provide you with a description of your situation, which is in essence quite simple, and as a consequence your options are similarly limited. What do you get if you help us? A chance to live. Or do you think Ylyeshshi will look kindly upon you after this morning?"
"This situation is hardly without risk for us," adds Koouri. "Should you fail, Jageela at least will know who helped you.
"But you are still blind to the main reason it must be you. To kill a chief is a grave thing. Ylyeshshi is chief by right, in accordance with our traditions. For a Finback to raise a hand against his chief could lead to spirits deserting the tribe. And without the spirits, we would be nothing.
"But instead the spirits have offered a way for Chief Ylyeshshi to be removed that does not violate our ways. He has wronged you. Under our laws, you may seek vengeance against him. The spirits of our tribe want peace between our peoples. That was the meaning of your victory against the totem beast, and the means by which to achieve it. So take heart. If you are being manipulated, it is by the very spirits of the earth. You could not stand against them even if you so desired it."
"As for a reward," says Irret, "I will become chief by right should Ylyeshshi fall. You will not go uncompensated."
"But it is unlikely the spirits will be finished with you, even should you succeed in this task," adds Koouri.
"I understand fully that humans come here to exploit our lands and care nothing for our traditions or interests," replies Zejj. "That you consider us primitive and foolish. That Newthrone was built by killing, enslaving or driving out the tribes that lived there before. That your people think of our lands as an empty place in which you can put your farms and ranches, despite the fact that my people have lived here before humans even existed.
"Your arrogance spews out with every word, your every utterance an insult to my people. You came with Thrashsk, to extract your shards. You have no other reason for being here. You came here not out altruism, but for gain, like every other outsider. So you may consider yourself different from the others of your race, but you are not. In fact, you are just like every other human I ever met.
"If there were not greater things at stake, I would cheerfully let Ylyeshshi tear your arms from their sockets and eat your entrails while you watched. But your disdain for me and my kind tells me everything I need to know - your merits and flaws start and end there."
Nalverren turns to Wultram , and says, "Careful, we will need you if we are to take that airship out of here."
Turning to their captor, he asks, "So, you want us to do this. We will need weapons. Regarding your customs, are we to just challenge him, or slit his sleeping throat?" His tone suggests a preference for the latter.
"If you agree to do this, we will return your weapons to you. As to how you deal with Ylyeshshi and Jageela, that is up to you," replies Koouri, seemingly grateful to turn the conversation back to the matter in hand. "So you will do this thing?"